OK, this is wildly OT, and I hope it doesn't lead us even further OT, but I couldn't resist this quote from the French foreign minister addressing the UN yesterday:
But Iraq must cooperate actively. This country must completely, immediately meet the requirements of Mr. Blix and ElBaradei, (inaudible) by committing the holding, without witnesses, of meetings between Iraqi scientists; by agreeing to the use of U-2 observation flights, by adopting legislation prohibiting the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction;
Well, legislation like that is certainly going to finally put to rest the whole weapons of mass destruction issue. <g>
That remark is certainly going to be a strong entrant in the little-known "Most Inane Comment Ever by a First-World Foreign Minister" category.
BTW, I predict war in mid-March, no matter what Iraq does or does not do (and that's been my view for over a month now). Maybe some S&P puts to hedge against a non-ideal outcome is a smart idea. Everyone seems to be assuming it will go smoothly, but the notion of say an Iraqi chemical/biological attack on Israel, followed by a nuclear response, is at least not inconceivable.
Peter |
